I've figured out Google + and the best practices.

I've been using Google + for about a month. And although the audience isn't as big as Facebook it has been EVEN more effective than Facebook in terms of "Time invested".

One of the things that Google + doesn't do is limit the target audience you are seeing so even though you may have 1000's more followers on FB it's easier to hit the audience you do have.

So the best way that I've found to gain followers is to find the Community of your niche. And post on there on a frequent basis. Just like anything you have to stay consistent like REALLY consistent. I post about 6-8 Photo Quotes on my community of 500,000 a day. I don't waste my time with with lower amounts because again it's TIME invested. The cool thing about Communities is that every time you post on there it also posts that thread on your profile so not only are you targeting the people who are in the community but also the people who have followed. More bang for your buck.

Everyone who interacts via +1 or shares I follow them. They recognize you from your post so they will be more prone to add you. I've gained close to 600 followers in 3 weeks.

Hope this helps. Now I need help with Pinterest LOL

 

Thanks good going for 3 weeks! Cheers for the heads up I will try it.

 

Great results @Matthew D. And I tend to agree with you. So far as building your exposure / reach online, Google+ is by far the easier platform to do so organically, at least when compared to Facebook. I was able to gain a few hundred followers in my first month or two on it without any real branding behind me. It's usually as easy as regularly engaging with other users in your industry. My findings are about the same as yours.

 

Those are some good results @Matthew D.

I just want to warn people about circle shares. If they sound like a chain letter avoid them. Follower on G+ like any other social network only matters if they engage with your content.

 

Hey there Matthew!
I agree with you, and that's what I've been doing for a long time now.
Though, what I do is I share my new blog content on a certain community then make sure to put a hashtag on it.
I do actually get good number of +1 on my posts and sometimes a "share" but I never tried following those who hit +1 or share on my posts, but I'll give it a try.
I don't really follow people on google plus, as much as possible I want them to follow me which is actually happening now. 1 to 3 per day or every other day, which isn't bad at all. Well, depending on how much I update

 

^^ I'm actually up to about 2,300 followers now currently and posting about 12 posts a day

 

I tried that method and it worked! Now with Pinterest, you need to be active as well. Repin pins that seems interesting, create boards and organize them. Try to be creative, create your own pins and make sure you include the correct tags so people will find it easily. Hope this helps

 

I think I got the hold of pinterest now and thanks

 

good to know. good luck!

 

Great idea man.

I personally have over 7k followers on G+ and I've done it through follow/unfollow using Circloscope.

I'm going to try your method... but for the record, here's how I work it in Circloscope:

1. Set up circles named for the days of the week.

2. Use circloscope to scrape engagers of a person/business that's in my niche - or else to pull recent engagers of a community.

3. Remove 'blue heads' the default image.

4. Follow on mass (one click).

5. Unfollow the ones who haven't followed back on the current day of the week - they've had 7 days to follow back before I remove them. I also blacklist them so that I don't annoy them by following them again in the future.

You have to increase your follow rate bit by bit. Here's a rough guide:

0 to 1k followers = 50 in 24 hours.
1k to 2k followers = 100 in 24 hours
2k to 3k followers = 200 in 24 hours

I tend to do this every other day to avoid Google's 24 hour limit.

I actually outsource this process to my VA and she does it for all my G+ accounts.

Hope that helps too peeps.

 

@Robin Dewar What are other platforms can you manage through Circloscope?

 

Thanks for the advice. I have started google+ a couple times already but never put much effort on it. I might give it a try now.
I always liked how it keeps alive through my youtube comments though. In fact, that has led me towards most of my google+ connections.

 

@Brent Jones only Google+ but it's THE DADDY of all G+ automation tools.

 

I need something to schedule posts for a Google+ personal profile that isn't a Chrome extension. Will Circloscope do that?

 

No - not a scheduler. Mmm... I think Ifttt or Ifttt + Buffer will do that. If not try Hootsuite.

 

I think G+ has taken majority after Facebook and Twitter. Now a day everybody is more interested in G+. So you can carry with it.

 

I actually have had Circloscope now I haven't been on here in a while but I like the Blacklisting idea. Unfortunately Google+ will not let you follow more than 5000 followers so I'm pretty much maxed out. But I do have over 5000 followers now

 

I'm not on Google+ as you are and indeed these posts are changing my mind. Initially I thought all the work on Google+ to be a waste of time but now I don't think it anymore. Deserves a try! Absolutely

 

Some blog posts I shared on google plus actually ranks on SERP.
Found them on the 2nd or 3rd page actually.
I believe that the more people engage on your posts the more likely you are to rank on SERP. Just my observation.

 

If you work mostly with Google Search Engine it will be natural to use G+ more often, as it is so to say one system.


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